The Rudolf Steiner Archive

19. The Yoga Path, Christian-Gnostic Initiation, and Rosicrucian Esotericism

[ 1 ] Initiation enables a person to gain insight into higher worlds. It consists of an intimate process of development within our soul. The paths to it differ from person to person, but the truth is the same everywhere. Once you stand on the summit of a mountain, you have an unobstructed view in every direction. But it would be utter nonsense if, having reached the summit, we did not take the nearest path from where we are to reach the summit. So it is with initiation. Once we have reached the goal and truly attained the unobstructed view of knowledge, that knowledge is the same for everyone.

[ 2 ] However, it is not good for a person to follow a path of development other than the one appropriate to their nature. In fact, there should be a specific path of initiation for each individual. All paths, however, trace back to three different types: the path of yoga, Christian-Gnostic initiation, and Christian-Rosicrucian initiation. One can therefore follow one of these three different paths. They are different because there are three types of people. Among Europeans, there are only a few who can follow the Eastern path of yoga. Therefore, it is generally not appropriate for a European to follow the path of yoga. For in the East, people live in a completely different climate, under a completely different kind of sunlight. Anatomy will not be able to easily demonstrate the difference between Orientals and Europeans, but there is a profound psychological and spiritual difference between them, and this must be taken into account, since inner development profoundly affects the psychological and spiritual nature of human beings. The finer structure of the Hindu brain is imperceptible to the anatomist. But if one were to expect a European to do what one can expect of an Indian, one would ruin him. One can prescribe certain practices for the Indian that are of no use whatsoever to the European or may even be harmful to him. Above all, the path of yoga places a fundamental requirement on the student, without the fulfillment of which it is simply impossible to walk this path. It demands the strict authority of a teacher, a so-called guru. Anyone who wishes to follow it must submit to the guru’s instructions down to the minutest details of daily life. Apart from that, the Indian path of yoga is virtually impossible to follow unless one detaches oneself from external circumstances. For it is necessary to take a wide variety of external measures to support the prescribed exercises. If one has certain experiences that make an impression on one’s emotional world, this will have a profound influence when one is undergoing inner occult development. That is why the Eastern yoga student must consult the guru on every detail of life. If one wishes to make any changes in one’s life, one must let the guru guide one in that direction. Thus, the path of yoga is one that requires absolute submission to the guru. One must learn to see through the guru’s eyes and learn to feel as he does. One cannot walk this path without deep trust, without perfect love, combined with unrestricted trust and unconditional devotion that surpasses all else.

[ 3 ] In the Christian-Gnostic path, there is only one great teacher, the central guru. What is required here is faith in Christ Jesus himself, not merely in his teachings. The Christian-Gnostic disciple must be able to believe that in Jesus Christ the one supreme divine individuality was incarnated—an individuality that cannot be compared to any other, not even the highest individuality. All other individualities on this earth began at a lower level and then ascended—such as Buddha, Hermes, Zoroaster, and Pythagoras—so that their spiritual form is the result of many previous incarnations. This is not the case with Christ Jesus. He cannot be compared to any other individuality, to anything else on Earth. Without this belief, one would not be able to follow the purely Christian-Gnostic path.

[ 4 ] A third path is that of the Christian Rosicrucians. Here, the teacher is a guide who limits his advice primarily to the practices of spiritual development itself. This spiritual development must be structured in such a way that it has a profound influence on a person’s life. A teacher must always be present during the initiation. There is no such thing as a serious initiation without a teacher. Anyone who claimed otherwise would be saying something just as foolish as someone who considered the birth of a child possible without the interaction of the two sexes. Initiation is a process of spiritual fertilization. If this were not brought about within the dual relationship between teacher and student, it would in fact be a harmful process.

[ 5 ] The Indian path of yoga distinguishes seven stages. However, they do not always follow one another in the same order. The stages listed can, to a certain extent, be intermixed. It is not necessary to progress through the first through seventh stages in sequence. It may be that one is encouraged to anticipate something from the seven stages and is then, depending on one’s individuality, assigned a practice that corresponds to an entirely different stage. Perhaps the student will go through this in a few years, or perhaps in a few months. When asked how long it takes to reach initiation, Subba Row said: It can take seventy incarnations or as few as seven; for some it takes seven years, for others seven months, or just seven days, or even as little as seven hours. — That depends entirely on the spiritual maturity a person has already attained. Spiritual maturity manifests more quickly in some and more slowly in others. That depends on karma. One might well ask why a certain person does not stand out, even though they were spiritually very advanced in a previous life. Perhaps there are obstacles in their physical and psychological constitution. The teacher’s main task lies in removing these obstacles. A person’s outward appearance in everyday life is not the determining factor. A previous initiation may lie deeply hidden in the soul and fail to emerge solely because of certain obstacles.

[ 6 ] The first stage of Indian yoga training is yama. This roughly means “abstention” or “refraining from.” Indians understand this to mean: do not kill, do not lie, do not steal, do not engage in sexual misconduct, and do not covet. But if we want to delve deeper into what the Indians mean by this, we must consider it in its entirety. For example, even if we become vegetarians, we have not yet broken the habit of killing. Our very existence is impossible without killing. Even through breathing, we kill by exhaling carbon dioxide. If the Earth’s green vegetation were not constantly absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, humans and animals could not live. Part of the yoga practice consists precisely in breaking the habit of this killing. The Indian considers this point very important. He would also view numerous interconnections in our modern social life as falling under the concept of stealing. Each of us must earn money in some way. Many conditions are necessary for us to obtain this money. When we buy a coat, we cannot know whether human blood is involved in its production. People give little thought to their place in social contexts and to their shared responsibility for their actions. If one takes these matters seriously, then one must feel responsible for what happens through one’s own actions.

[ 7 ] The best way to help others is to become free from needs. One who becomes free from needs helps others more than a philanthropist does. For example, if one refrains from writing unnecessary letters, this might spare some people from having to climb many flights of stairs. It is a grave mistake to believe that one helps people by having greater demands and thereby creating more work. One does not in the least increase what people need by giving them work. Under the complicated conditions prevailing in Europe, it is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out the practices required of Easterners in order to follow the path of yoga. In a country where there are no banks, where cultural conditions are negligible, one can follow the path of yoga in its strictest form.

[ 8 ] The second is Nyana, the practice of a ritual. The Indian path of yoga definitely requires that a person have a ritual, that they combine the teaching with a form of worship. It is strictly required of everyone who follows the path of yoga that they observe a ritual. One must have these things visibly before oneself in actions. Just as art depends on actual expression in external objects, so this initiation depends on the things being demonstrated in the ritual.

[ 9 ] The third is asana, the alignment of the human posture with certain cosmic currents. Where people still had a sense of such things, they would, for example, always build the main altar facing east in religious structures. Given the Indians’ meticulous organization, the direction in which it faces is significant. There is, in fact, a different current flowing from north to south than from east to west. In yoga initiation, the physical posture is crucial, because the Eastern body is much more supple and the experience manifests itself much more strongly within it when it assumes a specific position. If a European were to follow the Eastern path of yoga, he would have to practice all these things.

[ 10 ] The fourth is Pranayama, the regulation of the breathing process. This becomes easiest to understand when we consider that, under present conditions, humans kill through their breath. The teacher instructs the student: “You must regulate your breathing for at least a certain period of time according to the rules the teacher gives you.” If one were to examine the breath, one would see that the exhaled air of a yoga student has a completely different composition—a completely different carbon dioxide content—than that of an ordinary person. It is therefore true that, by regulating the breathing process, the student actually influences the future development of the Earth. Constant dripping wears away the stone. This cannot be seen overnight. But it adds up and, over the course of long periods of time, will mean something very specific.

[ 11 ] The Rosicrucian teacher also recommends synchronizing the breathing process at specific times. What does the breathing process accomplish? The physical human being is inconceivable without plants. We inhale oxygen, which is combined with carbon in the lungs, and we exhale carbon dioxide. The plant does exactly the opposite. A continuous cycle takes place between humans on the one hand and plants on the other. In the distant future, human beings will develop an organ within themselves capable of performing the function that plants perform today. They will be able to process carbon dioxide within themselves. This will be made possible by an organ through which human beings separate carbon from oxygen and unite it with themselves. What we currently take in through food to build our bodies, we will then consciously carry out within ourselves. Through this, we will transform carbon dioxide back into oxygen. This process is in fact facilitated by the rhythmic regulation of the breathing process. In the 14th century, this was taught in detail in the Rosicrucian schools. Due to the betrayal of some of these secrets, much of this information has found its way into popular literature. An 18th-century text mentions the Philosopher’s Stone. What it says is literally correct. The author himself, however, probably had no idea what it was really about. The whole human being must transform himself if he is to accomplish what the plant now accomplishes for him. His physical body will then itself become carbon, but this will not be black carbon, nor will it be a hard diamond, which is, after all, merely the symbol of the Philosopher’s Stone. By the Philosopher’s Stone, one means that body which is transparent and into which the other organs are integrated. It will consist of a mass of gelatinous carbon, similar to egg white. Humanity is on a path that will one day lead it to develop into this wondrous glory. The rhythmic breathing that leads to this is called alchemy. The Philosopher’s Stone is called Lapis philosophorum. The man who wrote about it did not himself know what he was writing.

[ 12 ] The fifth stage of the path of yoga is pratyahara. It consists of being able to suppress the impressions of the external senses. We must realize what our true inner world is, and set aside everything that has penetrated us from the outside. Most of what a person thinks has come to them from the outside. When a person is able to consciously devote themselves to inner thought, when they can make themselves blind and deaf to their surroundings while remaining inwardly awake, when they can have a thought without reflecting on external things, then their sleep is filled with dreams, and they are practicing Pratyahara.

[ 13 ] At the sixth stage, one must not only completely absorb what the eyes can see and the ears can hear, but also suppress inner images that arise from the soul itself. After removing from the soul everything that has entered it through life, one places a concept within the soul. This is given by the guru. These concepts may be similar to those contained in the first four teachings of Light on the Path. The best contents of the soul are those that a special teacher can give one.

[ 14 ] After such a mental content has been active for a while, one lets it go without losing consciousness. One then retains the function of spiritual life as such, without the content of thought. Once this seventh stage is reached, the spiritual world enters within us. This state is called samadhi.

[ 15 ] Just like the path of yoga, the training in Christian gnosis also has seven stages. This method already takes into account a somewhat coarsened body and is geared specifically toward the world of feelings and sensations. The Christian teacher must guide the student’s world of feelings and sensations. The seven stages of Christian initiation are: first, the washing of the feet; second, the scourging; third, the crowning with thorns; fourth, the crucifixion; fifth, the mystical death on the cross; sixth, the burial; and seventh, the ascension.

[ 16 ] The best approach is to go through these seven stages by describing how the relationship between teacher and student unfolds. The teacher might say to the student: Look at the plant! It takes root and grows in the mineral kingdom. If it were to turn to the mineral kingdom, it would have to say to it: “I owe my existence to you; only through you can I live—I thank you!” — Likewise, the animal would have to say to the plant kingdom: “I owe my existence to you; only through you can I live.” And when a person looks at the nature around them and at the people who stand below them, a similar feeling must fill their soul. No higher level can develop or be attained without the lower levels being present. That is why people who are in a higher social position must also descend to those who are lower and thank them. Christ Jesus symbolized this in the washing of the feet by bending down to the disciples and washing their feet. On the first stage of Christian initiation, the disciple must allow himself to be completely imbued with this feeling of gratitude toward all who stand below him. What he achieves will manifest in two signs. First, in an astral vision, he will see himself in the situation of the washing of the feet. This occurs in everyone who goes through this process correctly. Second, he will have a sensation as if water were washing over his feet.

[ 17 ] At the second stage, the student must learn to endure all the sufferings of life that are constantly unfolding around him. He must stand firm, even when he has to endure the greatest pain. The symptom is that, in astral vision, the student sees himself being flogged and feels something like pinpricks in various places on his body.

[ 18 ] The third stage is acquiring the ability to endure seeing the holiest thing we know showered with scorn and derision. The teacher says to the student: If you can endure the mockery of what is most sacred to you and still stand up for it, then you are capable of bearing the crown of thorns. The student will experience a special kind of headache when he has reached this stage.

[ 19 ] On the fourth stage, he must learn to regard the body as something entirely external, to carry the body about just as we would otherwise carry an instrument, a hammer, or some other tool. In some schools, students learn to speak of their bodies in such a way that they say: “My body walks through the door”—and the like. At this stage, the individual sees himself nailed to the cross in astral vision. He receives the wounds of Christ on his hands and feet and on the right side of his body. At that moment of meditation and concentration, red stigmata appear.

[ 20 ] The fifth stage is the mystical death. At this stage, a person experiences it as if a veil were being drawn between them and the rest of the world, like a black curtain. Then they experience inwardly all that is evil in the world. The descent into hell—that is mystical death. Then a vision reveals the tearing of this curtain.

[ 21 ] At the sixth stage, one then experiences a sensation as if everything else were one's own body. One is then united with the earth. This is the burial.

[ 22 ] The seventh stage, the Resurrection, cannot be described in words. Whoever experiences such feelings within themselves gains insight into the spiritual world.

[ 23 ] The third type of initiation is the Rosicrucian initiation, which has been practiced in Europe since the 14th century. It focuses primarily on strengthening and fortifying the inner will. While the Eastern tradition places its emphasis on thinking and the Christian-Gnostic tradition on feeling, the Rosicrucian tradition is directed toward the training of the will. The stages of this training are: first, study; second, imagination; third, the study of occult texts; fourth, the rhythmic structuring of life; fifth, learning to understand the correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm; sixth, contemplation or immersion in the macrocosm; and seventh, godliness.

[ 24 ] The study requires that the student have the patience to gain certain insights into the world. First, he must absorb teachings from his teacher. For example, he must study with dedication the teachings that elementary theosophy can offer him. He must try to grasp these teachings as best he can. The patient assimilation of concepts is necessary for anyone who wishes to ascend to higher levels. This requires a certain training of the mind—an accustoming oneself to living and weaving within the pure elements of thought. Books such as The Philosophy of Freedom and Truth and Science have been written for those who wish to attain Rosicrucian initiation and train the mind. It is essential to overcome the difficulties—which may seem insurmountable to some—to follow the train of thought and recognize how one thought necessarily unfolds from another. In Eastern training, strict submission to the guru is required. In Christian-Gnostic training, the student must place Christ at the center of his or her striving. In Christian-Rosicrucian training, the teacher stands by the student as a friend and advisor.

[ 25 ] In the higher realms, it is much easier to stumble, which is why one must have inner certainty. In ordinary life, life itself sets us straight. Sometimes life corrects our mistakes in a terrible way. This correction is not available when one ascends to the higher worlds. That is why, in Eastern training, one must see through the eyes of the guru and feel through him. The European teacher serves as a guide. When ascending into the higher worlds, however, one certainly needs another guiding principle. In the astral world, perceptions are entirely different from those in the physical world; likewise, in the Devachanic world, a new realm of perceptions opens up to us. In terms of impressions, the three worlds are quite different. But one thing is the same in all of them: logical thinking. This can be a reliable guide for us on the astral and devachanic planes. If, through study, one has learned to think logically, one can also help oneself on the astral and devachanic planes. However, the logic of the physical plane no longer applies to the buddhic plane.

[ 26 ] The second stage of Rosicrucian training is imagination. European students should not rush into this stage, because they can easily stumble. One must learn to establish a moral relationship with things. One must see in all transitory things a parable for something eternal. If we look at nature in this light, the autumn crocus, for example, becomes for us the symbol of a solitary being striving upward in melancholy. The violet is then a symbol of something that fulfills its existence in unassuming, tranquil beauty. Every stone stirs thoughts within us—it is a parable for something that lies beyond. This enriches the world around us. Things reveal their innermost essence to us. One flower then becomes a tear through which the earth expresses its sorrow; another becomes an expression of joy. If we consider, for example, a grain of rice, we can observe how a small flame grows from it. The small flame becomes an image of what later sprouts from it as a stalk.

[ 27 ] Third, there comes a stage where an entire spiritual world emerges from all beings. Their spiritual essence, their spiritual content, hovers above all things. The entire astral world becomes visible. One then finds oneself as if in the midst of ocean waves and has the experience of swimming in the sea. One sees how vivid the color of a tulip is and recognizes that it forms the garment of an astral being. At this third stage, the student proceeds to learn the occult script. If we truly wish to live in the astral world, then we must know the occult script. In the world, many things are constructed, for example, in the shape of a vortex:

[ 28 ] We find this spiral both in the Orion Nebula and in the structure of living beings. Human and animal embryos have a spiral shape in an early stage. One part represents the physical, while the other part, which winds its way into it, represents the astral. The dawn of a new stage in human history is also symbolized by the sign of two intertwined spirals. This is the zodiac sign of Cancer. When the post-Atlanic epoch began after the downfall of ancient Atlantis with the Proto-Indian subrace, the sun rose in the zodiac sign of Cancer at the onset of spring. If one is familiar with occult writings, one learns to orient oneself in the astral world.

[ 29 ] The fourth stage involves learning the rhythm of life. The student is instructed to follow a specific breathing pattern. In nature, everything proceeds rhythmically. Every plant blooms rhythmically at the same time. This rhythm can also be observed in the animal kingdom; for example, animals are fertile only at certain times of the year. In humans, however, this rhythm descends into chaos. Human beings must create a new rhythm for their lives. For many people, there is only a forced rhythm. In general, people do not have a voluntary rhythm. The Rosicrucian must ensure that life is brought into rhythm. Rhythm is introduced into the breathing process through the teacher’s specific instructions.

[ 30 ] The fifth is learning about the correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm. There is a certain bond between human beings and all things in the world around them. In ordinary people, this manifests only in the love between the two sexes, in the feeling that one finds in the other precisely what is kindred, familiar, and belongs to them. Yet much is based on this mysterious relationship between the world and human beings. It is on this, for example, that Paracelsus based his discovery of how certain plants relate to human beings. He also came to understand the relationship of other substances to human beings through this ability. He called a patient suffering from cholera an “Arsenicus,” because arsenic induces precisely the same symptoms in a healthy person as those exhibited by a patient with cholera. One can have a personal relationship—a loving relationship—with all things on a purely spiritual level. This requires special practice. One attains it by following very specific instructions. If one thinks of the point between the eyebrows above the bridge of the nose while focusing on a specific word, one will, after some time, gain insight into a very specific process in the world. By thinking of the innermost part of the eye, one gains knowledge of the nature of the Sun and of the processes that took place when the Sun and Earth still formed a single celestial body. Through another exercise, a person recognizes what the Moon is in a spiritual sense, or what state the Earth was in eighteen million years ago.

[ 31 ] This is followed by immersion in the correspondence between the microcosm and the macrocosm. By concentrating on the point between the eyebrows above the bridge of the nose, one can penetrate into the time when the “I” entered into human beings. Then the human being grows, with his consciousness, into the macrocosm. He must practice this for a very specific period of time and thus grow into all things, whether they are far or near.

[ 32 ] Seventh is the stage of godliness, where one outgrows the limited physical shell and is able to live in harmony with the macrocosm.

[ 33 ] The teachings are given to the student according to the occult nature of his being. When the student has passed through these stages in real experience, he has attained the pinnacle of knowledge of the higher worlds.